Edward James Roye

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Edward James Roye
5th President of Liberia
In office January 3, 1870 – October 26, 1871
Vice President(s)	James Skivring Smith
Preceded by	James Spriggs Payne
Succeeded by	James Skivring Smith
Born	February 3, 1815 Newark, Ohio
Political party	True Whig

Edward James Roye (February 3, 1815 - 1872) was a American-Liberian political figure.

Edward Roye was born into a prosperous family in Newark, Ohio, in the United States. His father, John Roye, managed a ferry across the Wabash River at Terre Haute, Indiana and, by conservative spending, acquired considerable land in Terre Haute and in Vandalia, Illinois. John Roye died prematurely and Edward located in Terre Haute in 1836 where he established the community's largest barber shop, boasted a barber pole 79-feet high, "the tallest in western Indiana." Attracted by the American Colonization Society, Roye emigrated to Liberia in 1846 and set up business as a merchant. In 1849, Roye became active in Liberian politics, rising to the position of President of Liberia in 1870. Before becoming president, Roye served as speaker of the Liberian house of representatives and chief justice of the supreme court. He was the first darkskinned person elected president of Liberia. Roye took office in the midst of a fiscal crisis and was ultimately ousted by his opponents in 1871. The circumstances around his death are unclear [1]

He attended Ohio University, in Athens, OH.

Preceded by James Spriggs Payne

President of Liberia 1870–1871

Succeeded by James Skivring Smith

Presidents of Liberia

Joseph J. Roberts • Stephen Allen Benson • Daniel Bashiel Warner • James Spriggs Payne • Edward J. Roye • James Skivring Smith • Joseph J. Roberts • James Spriggs Payne • Anthony W. Gardiner • Alfred Francis Russell • Hilary R. W. Johnson • Joseph James Cheeseman • William D. Coleman • Garretson W. Gibson • Arthur Barclay • Daniel Edward Howard • Charles D.B. King • Edwin Barclay • William Tubman • William R. Tolbert, Jr. • Samuel Doe • Amos Sawyer† • David D. Kpormakpor† • Wilton G. S. Sankawulo† • Ruth Perry† • Charles G. Taylor • Moses Blah • Gyude Bryant† • Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf  † denotes non-presidential head of state

Persondata
NAME	Roye, Edward James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Roye, Edward J.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	President of Liberia
DATE OF BIRTH	1815
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH	1872
PLACE OF DEATH